What are some common factors that play a role in truck accidents?

Sharing the road with vehicles that are much larger than you can be very scary. No one wants to be involved in an accident with a truck; however, that does not stop them from occurring regularly. According to American Truckers, there are some factors that many truck accidents share in common. Understanding what causes these types of crashes may be useful in helping you to avoid them. Here is what you need to know about truck accidents and their causes.

The type of road you are driving on is one of the many things that may increase or decreased the likelihood of an accident. More than half of fatal truck accidents take place on major roads, rather than highways or local thoroughfares. One reason for this may be that driver are more likely to speed on these types of roads.

In addition, the time of day you are driving may affect your chances of being involved in a crash. Surprisingly, there are more deadly crashes during the morning and early afternoon hours than at night. The day of the week is also a factor, as more fatal truck accidents occur on Thursday than any other day.

Finally, many truck accidents are actually caused by the drivers of other vehicles and not the driver of the truck. The fact that 29 percent of crashes involve a driver rear-ending a truck and that another 29 percent are due to drivers impacting head-on with trucks show that human error is a common factor for all types of drivers and not just truckers.